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Can it be a shark?!? I've got a great idea with a minor second motif! ;-)

I'm going to attempt to enter this one.

I propose that you create a new topic for May. Unless there are better suggestions?

[Dualnames]

I'm happy to see you guys put forth some amazing entries! Here are my thoughts:

Dualnames: When you said "I've barely scratched the interface with this." I have to agree. What you have there is beautiful to listen to and I can really hear how it could be developed into an amazing piece! If you had the time extend this and add more to it, it would be a piece that I would be happy to arrange for my band to play!

JasonB: Right from the start, you put me in the western mood. It has a spaghetti western sound that is not too over the top/cliche. It's like spaghetti western meets modern/contemporary music. It's very satisfying to listen to. And, I love the instrumentation! The horses and whistle are a nice touch!

Emont: Again, another great tune that captures the west with a modern sound. I'm impressed how you were able to use synthesized instrumentation and still capture the west. In fact, you use a lot of clever instrumentation and techniques throughout the entire piece. It is really impressive.

Final Thoughts:

Dualnames, as I mentioned: I liked the sound you came up with and it, to me, did capture the images. I just wish it had been developed a little more.

JasonB and Emont had more similar styles and while Emont's piece was very well orchestrated and impressive, I think JasonB's piece is my favorite for this competition. It was a very hard decision, but there can only be one winner and the WINNER IS JASONB.

Congratulations, JasonB. The next competition is all yours!

And thanks again to all the entries! It was fun hearing them!

If at least one other person can show interest in entering this contest, I will extend the deadline one week.

[Look at the images below and compose a piece that describes how they make you feel. The piece should be at least 2 minutes long and you may use any instrumentation.THE DEADLINE IS MARCH 16th 23rd]

My community band's next concert is themed around the Wild West. I thought this would make an interesting theme for this contest. Open fields, vast mountain ranges, cowboys on horses ... how can it not inspire great music?!

Look at the images below and compose a piece that describes how they make you feel. The piece should be at least 2 minutes long and you may use any instrumentation.

THE DEADLINE IS MARCH 16th 23rd

Happy writing, ya'll!

Thanks! lol. It sucks to have no competition, but maybe next time. I'll come up with a theme and post it ASAP.

Very nice entrie ,well done

Thanks, Doc. I hope you enter!

This doesn't really sound like "Indiana Jones" to me so I'm curious as what the rest of the soundtrack sounds like.

Still, this is a pretty nice track that adequately conveys the idea of love

You should listen to Marion's theme from Indiana Jones then. This piece was heavily inspired by that.

Great theme! I will definitely try to enter.

Here is my entry:



The Ski Jumper's Fanfare

This is a short little piece but it's made up of 4 main parts: Prerun, The Inrun, Takeoff/Flight, and The Landing

Congrats Eric!

[@Monkey424]

Very nice!  The melody is simple and effective, and you used the orchestration to great effect.  Just a couple of quick comments:

• There's a somewhat dodgy chord sequence around 2:32-2:40.  It goes from Dm to Bb (which works nicely), then Bb to B and back to Bb with nearly parallel motion, which doesn't really work.
• Try putting the violins an octave higher at 3:01.  This is the big climax, it should sound like it.
• I'd put in some nice timpani roll hairpins around 3:22, 3:41 and similar.  In general, I don't think you've used percussion just about at all, and it can add some spice to key points of your piece.

You could use some more realistic instruments (especially the French horn sounded quite artificial), but I think this piece worked quite nicely overall.  Thanks for sharing, I'd love to hear more!

Thanks for the advice and I'm glad you liked it. This isn't a finished piece. It will undergo revisions. I'll play around with some of the modifications you suggest and see if I like them. As far as more realistic instruments, I know. :-/ I'm looking into upgrading.

@Monkey424
My specialty is probably modern orchestral (such as this piece). But I do not have problems writing jazz. In fact, in many ways, it's much easier for me to write jazz.

[that I didn't know this existed 10 years ago]

I'm a little late, but still a newbie, so I'm posting.    I've been making computer games since my Tandy days, as a kid. I've been trying to make games using C++ and Allegro mostly, but found adventure games more difficult to do. I recently delved into the world of game engines, and couldn't believe how much was out there. Then I stumbled onto AGS and was hooked. I've been impressed by the tool, the manual, the very active community of Adventure Gamers, and contests. I loove contests. I can't resist them.

I pulled out my backlog of game ideas, and I'm excited to start game designing again.  I'm kicking myself for selling my keyboard. I could be making my own music too   I hope to work with others on projects, and creating kissarse games. And I'm trying not to regret the fact that I didn't know this existed 10 years ago!  <sigh> Oh well.

Hello Ms. Hana. The pleasure is all ours.

I have been informed that I am allowed to give a preview of some of the music that will be in this game (Indiana Jones and the Seven Cities of Gold)!!!

I've already posted it in another thread, so rather than reposting here, I'll just redirect you to there:
Seven Cities Love Theme

Wow, that was a really awesome track. Reminds me a lot of Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy tunes (Aerith's theme in particular) which only improves the experience for me. If that is intentional, I applaud you.

Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm glad you liked it! This was not inspired by Aerith's theme, I'm sad to say. But I do enjoy that piece of music! It is very beautiful!

Only noteworthy things I could criticize: Around 1:35 when the song gets really powerful the audio quality drops noticably.

I noticed this too, I plan to fix this issue. Glad your brought it up to remind me!

Another thing is that in the beginning I had a hard time grasping the rhythm of the song because of all the soft strings and the pacing. Only at around 0:50 I was able to listen to it without concentrating too much because the other instruments start supporting the song.

Let me start by saying: When I write a theme for a semi-large to large game (a game that will require a lot more than 3 or 4 tracks and musical themes are going to be essential), I like to first develop the theme and write it as if it were going to be played as a stand alone orchestral piece (well, orchestral in this case). I wanted to give the introduction of this piece somewhat of a free meter feel. The idea is that it presents the main theme but in a way that's not so obvious. The conductor would conduct very freely with several tempo changes and things like that - however he was feeling in that moment. So, to address your comment more properly, this piece (as you hear it in this version) is intended to be heard that way.

Now, sometimes, a piece like this may not be used in the game at all. But, I know have a theme. A theme that we can do other things with. A theme that can be rearranged in different ways - depending on what the game needs.

That said, I loved it and I want to hear it in a game! Combine this with a well written story and you will break my heart.

Again, thanks! And I have been informed that I am allowed to announce that this theme is the female lead's theme (and love theme) for the upcoming AGS game:
Indiana Jones and the Seven Cities of Gold

lol. Thanks to everyone that contributed.

Awesome job man! I will definitely contribute in the near future!

I like my little conductor .gif avatar thingy
<-------- (over here)

But I'm not an old dude with white hair. lol. I'd like to have one that suits me better. If any of you wonderful artists/animators out there have any free time and want to make me a new one, I would be very grateful (and in your debt).

Just in case you can't see my avatar (for whatever reason), I'll post it here in the message:


It doesn't really matter the specifics of how it looks, I just want it to be a younger guy (mid-late 20's) with short brown hair and possibly a short beard (or 5 o'clock shadow). Here is a picture of me if it helps:


You can keep the tux (unless your inspired to do something else). But, I do like the AGS blue - so maybe a blue tie (instead of red)? Maybe a regular neck tie and not a bow tie? Maybe no tie? Just tossing out ideas. I am not going to be picky, I just thought someone might enjoy doing this and it would make me like my avatar a lot more.

Cheers!

Second time I've heard your stuff and I just want to say you've got a really good grasp on ambiance in your music. I mean, the music is interesting and calming and sets the distinct theme you go for while still being something drifts to the background. Like it's effortlessly experienced, you get the effects of the music without really noticing the presence of the music. Great game music kind of blows my mind, you barely think of it while you're playing, but if it wasn't there you'd just know and the experience couldn't be the same. And when you're not playing and think about your gaming experience the music drifts into the back of your head. Great work, keep it up. I really look forward to seeing your music in a project.

Thank you so much for the kind words. Maybe one day, we can work together on a project. :-)

I recently wrote a piece that I would like to share with everyone and if you have any comments or critiques, I'd be happy to hear them.

All that I can say is that this was composed as a love theme for an AGS game currently in-progress.

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/jbg6s87tb94e9t3/LoveTheme-AKSmith.mp3